Making Cents

Making Cents
Written by Elizabeth Keeler Robinson
Illustrated by Bob McMahon

Making Cents is a non-fiction book that teaches young children about United States Money The children in the book teach readers about the values of money while earning money to build a club house. Along the way, readers learn many interesting facts about coins and bills.

Mini-Lesson: Text Features

Each coin and bill featured in this book is introduced with a heading, naming each item. Boxes within the text also include information. When reading the book, first take a picture walk with students, asking them to observe any special features of the books Then introduce students to the use of headings when reading a non-fiction book. Students can use headings to access their prior knowledge about the topic before reading on. Headings can also be transformed into questions to provide a purpose for reading the section. Both of these strategies can be modelled as the book is read. Additionally, the book can be used to demonstrate the use of illustrations or images, captions, and labels when reading non-fiction. The text boxes include more information about each amount of money and provide children with comparisons between the amount of money and what can be bought with that amount. Model how to read the main body of text and then read the text boxes and labels.

Mini-Lesson: Making and Revising Predictions Using Picture Clues

This book also provides a great opportunity to teach students how to use picture clues to foster predictions. The author does not reveal why the characters in the book want to earn money until the end of the book, but does provide hints when showing what the children are uying with their money. Each page is an opportunity to stop and revise predictions as more materials are purchased, illustrating how pictures can provide information to make, confirm, and revise predictions.